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Britain is demanding a global agreement against paying ransoms to kidnappers, after concerns that they are providing terrorists with about £15 million a year.

Diplomats are drumming up support for a United Nations resolution against making the payments to terrorist groups, following a similar agreement between the G8 group of major industrial countries this year.

Officials fear that the G8 agreement, signed in June, has not served as a strong enough deterrent, with many countries still approving the payments.

There are concerns, however, that such a deal would be difficult to enforce. Ransoms are often channelled to terrorist groups by